Talk Off is a recurring forum for two of our opinionated editors to challenge each other’s taste. In this first installment, the debaters tackle jodhpurs, the poofy horse-riding pants made famous by Jacqueline Kennedy and Officer Poncherello—and reprised on the fall runways of Balenciaga and Roberto Cavalli.

Anne: Do you remember when Alix Browne [a colleague at the Times magazine] got a pair of jodhpurs at a Gap in Europe?Karla: Yes, she came back ranting and raving about how amazing Phoebe Philo’s designs for the Gap were.Anne: I still can’t help but feel that khakis look and feel banal on a woman.Karla: I totally disagree. I think the natural color of khaki is easy to team with anything. I especially love the way khakis were proposed this season from Balenciaga and Cavalli [above].Anne: I just hate khakis! I don’t care who makes them. They make you look like you are working in the mail room. And jodhpurs? Unless you are riding a horse, I don’t see how they make sense.Karla: [laughs] That’s ridiculous! There are so many ways to interpret them. Rick Owens did a slouchy pair that I love. And I own a wide leg pair from Louis Vuitton that I got on sale for $70 down from $700. I will admit that they can go wrong if they are not done properly.Anne: Come on, khakis have no point of view!Karla: I think the rule is that you have to be very thoughtful with khakis. What about khaki shorts? Those can look cute.Anne: Ok, you’re right. At least we can agree on Bermudas.”

The Winner: Karla M. Martinez (who nosed out Christensen by the bubble of her imported Gap jodhpurs…)